Dean Rieck, Executive Director at Buckeye Firearms Association | LinkedIn
Dean Rieck, Executive Director at Buckeye Firearms Association | LinkedIn
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have partnered to host a free range day at three of Ohio’s premier public shooting ranges on Saturday, Aug. 17.
Participants can visit one of the following Division of Wildlife public shooting ranges from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for hands-on experience with firearms from certified instructors at no charge:
- Deer Creek Wildlife Area, corner of state Route 207 and Cook Yankeetown Road NE, Mount Sterling
- Delaware Wildlife Area, 1110 state Route 229, Ashley
- Spring Valley Wildlife Area, 3570 Houston Road, Waynesville
On-site staff will provide equipment, ammunition, ear protection, and eye protection, according to an Aug. 9 news release from ODNR.
Free range day is offered in conjunction with NSSF’s National Shooting Sports Month. Division of Wildlife public shooting ranges provide comfortable and safe places to hone skills with rifles, shotguns, handguns, and archery equipment. A complete list of range facilities and the amenities offered at each can be found at wildohio.gov.
Class A shooting ranges offer supervised rifle and pistol target shooting; Class B facilities offer unsupervised rifle and pistol target shooting; and Class C ranges host unsupervised clay target shotgun shooting.
The shooting range permit requirement is waived on all Division of Wildlife Class A, B, and C shooting ranges on Aug. 17. On all other days, everyone age 18 or older shooting on these ranges is required to purchase a permit available at hunting and fishing license outlets or via wildohio.gov or the HuntFish OH mobile app. Daily permits are $5 while annual permits cost $24.
Recreational target shooting has significant economic impact in Ohio. In 2022, Ohio’s 1.1 million target shooters spent $2.6 billion on their hobby supporting more than 22,000 jobs. About 20% of Ohioans participate in target shooting each year with outdoor shooting ranges like those managed by the Division of Wildlife used by 71% of participants.
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